RBMA
Join RBMA this spring for the leading annual conference for radiology business professionals.

PaRADigm promises to deliver RBMA quality education in new and unique ways. The Exhibit Hall will house more industry vendors under one roof for a one-stop shopping experience. Engaging events will better connect attendees emphasizing the RBMA motto, Progress Through Sharing. RBMA PaRADigm will not be only education; it will be an experience.

RBMA
The deadline to register for Building Better Radiology Marketing Programs at the discounted rate is Friday, Feb. 3. Don't miss your chance to connect with like-minded colleagues and attend the only seminar focused solely on radiology marketing.

RBMA
Our yearly Call for Volunteers is underway, and we can't spell Volunteer without you! RBMA is soliciting volunteers to serve on a variety of committees, subcommittees and task forces. Much of the work of RBMA is carried out by RBMA member volunteers, supported by RBMA staff.

Volunteering is an excellent way to increase your participation with and knowledge of your membership association. It may also be a great way to give back to an organization that was instrumental in building your career and achieving personal growth.

Terms are for one year and can be renewed up to a total of three years. Committees typically meet via conference call and may meet in person at RBMA's PaRADigm meeting! Committee members do not receive travel reimbursements.

RBMA
If you have not already renewed your membership for 2017 please be sure to do so by Feb. 28 or you will lose access to all of the great benefits RBMA offers such as the Forums and the RBMA Bulletin.

RBMA
The 2016 RBMA Accounts Receivable Survey report, based on 2015 data, is available for purchase in Shop RBMA. The results are presented in two Excel files that report on professional component and global services billing, respectively. These files include quartile statistics for the eight key indicators and nine other indicators of A/R management performance, overall and for selected practice characteristics, where six or more practices submitted the data needed to calculate the indicator.

As an RBMA member, you can receive this report for free by simply submitting your practice's A/R data for the 2015 data year. Your data will not be included in the Excel reports, but you will be able to run queries on the updated survey database through DataMAXX.

Click here to purchase the A/R Survey report. Please note, if you participated in the survey a link to download the report was sent to you in October.

RBMA
The 2017 A/R Survey is scheduled to open at the end of February — though you can submit data as soon as you are ready. Leading up to the survey launch, we will publish the median values from the 2016 survey for two of the eight key indicators weekly. You can find information on the key indicators, including formulas and brief descriptions, on the RBMA website at www.rbma.org/Key_Indicators/.

RBMA
Don't miss out on attending one of RBMA's most popular seminars. The 12th annual Building Better Radiology Marketing Programs seminar will be held March 5-7 in Fort Worth, Texas! A special program is available for operations and marketing departments to attend together.

If you are a marketing representative for an outside company, work in a practice, an operations manager, or a practice manager who wants to know how the word gets out about your practice you need to attend this seminar. Visit www.rbma.org/BBRMP/ for details.

RBMA
One of the biggest mistakes radiology practice marketers make when it comes to adhering to the requirements of the Stark Law, which prohibits Medicare and Medicaid patient referrals to entities that the referring physician has a financial relationship with, is believing that intentions matter.READ MORE

Aunt Minnie (registration required)The millennial generation — those born between 1980 and 2000 — is the largest generation since the baby boomers and likely the most educated in history. But when it comes to teaching and working with this group, older radiologists may be baffled as to the best approach, says an article in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
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Diagnostic Imaging (registration required)Being an advisor to several medical imaging publications requires one to provide a prognosis of what the key dynamics in medical imaging might be in the following year.
At this point in time, I am personally involved in several areas: big data and interactive virtual reality. Both areas are beginning to take hold in terms of impacting patient outcomes. This discussion is focused on the synergy between BD and IVR, and the resulting potential for significant gains in PO — an important dynamic for medical imaging.
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Physicians Practice (registration required)In our first discussion of this year, I provided some asset protection New Year's resolutions for doctors, including resolving to manage as many identifiable risks as possible when it is cheapest and most predictable to do so. Here's a list of doctors' most common liability insurance blind spots; we will provide further detail on each one in future discussions.
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The Washington PostA federal judge has prohibited the merger of two health insurance giants, Aetna and Humana, upholding the Justice Department's decision that the $37 billion deal would hurt competition and raise prices for consumers.
"The Court is unpersuaded that the efficiencies generated by the merger will be sufficient to mitigate the anticompetitive effects for consumers in the challenged markets," U.S. District Judge John D. Bates wrote in his 158-page opinion.
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The New York TimesJoanne Fitzgerald was getting divorced and was stressed out. When stomach pain kicked in, she saw a doctor to have it checked out.
That was her mistake.
The doctor diagnosed a mild form of gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach lining, and recommended some over-the-counter medicine. But when the divorce became final, in 2008, she lost health coverage from her husband's employer, and insurer after insurer refused to cover her because of the condition.
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